ABSTRACT
The origins of modern economic growth in East Asia have deep historical roots. Despite the impression that one gets from some popular writings (e.g. Galenson, 1982; Myint, 1982), the East Asian NIEs did not suddenly spring to life in the 1960s. As Cumings (1987:46) notes, ‘if there has been an economic miracle in East Asia, it has not occurred just since 1960; it would be profoundly ahistorical to think that it did’. In taking such a historical perspective, one has to distinguish between two strands of thought. One maintains that the East Asia NIEs are special cases, to the extent that their rapid economic growth is the product of fortuitous historical circumstances, strategic links to the USA, and culturally specific factors. The alternative view is that, while favourable exogenous factors were important, subsequent political and policy developments converted such favourable conditions into a process of rapid, self-sustaining growth. This chapter is sympathetic to the latter view. The relevant arguments in this debate are articulated by focusing on a number of issues: the role of a historical constant in the form of the Confucian heritage, the impact of colonisation on post-war economic growth and the geopolitical realities of the 1950s and 1960s (as manifested, for example, in the particular form of US aid and the Vietnam War). As a prelude to an examination of these issues, it would be useful to provide brief political histories of the East Asian NIEs.
